All of our DJs receive hundreds of CDs a month to consider for airplay. In this regular feature, KCRW DJ Chuck P catalogues his musical bounty from the Post Office each week.
The mid-holiday stretch always brings seasonal cheer, but the post office box sure gets lonely.  Only three packages in the box, but luckily all three look really good.

1) Western States Motel “Country & Western Song” .. a new single from one of my favorite LA bands.  A treat to hear new stuff from them.

2) Philippe Petit “Henry: …

Exciting news for fans of Florence + the Machine! The band’s 7-song live performance on Morning Becomes Eclectic is now available for sale –10” vinyl and digital only—through Amazon.com.
KCRW listeners know that we were the first to play Florence Welch’s music here in the U.S. way back in 2008, a year before her album “Lungs” was even released. We first started spinning the sassy “Kiss With a Fist” and we’ve been playing a number of tunes off the album (and remixes, especially The xx remix of “You’ve Got …

There are many layers to The Books’ music. It’s really quite fascinating and many of our DJs have been enthralled by their latest album “The Way Out.” It even made it onto KCRW Music Librarian Eric J Lawrence’s top 10 albums of the year list.
The band announced this morning that they just remastered all of their records and will be rereleasing them so fans of the band should keep an eye out for that. Until then, here’s a live session to keep you entertained!
RR
The Books Live on KCRW Track List
I …

Earlier this year, Jason Bentley unknowingly played legendary filmmaker David Lynch’s first foray into electronic music on Morning Become Eclectic and announced it as an Underworld track, only to be corrected in a phone call a few moments later.
And, what started out as a simple mistake, became the beginning of Lynch’s career as an electronic artist. Jason put the song “Good Day Today” in the hands of folks at Sunday Best Recordings during the International Music Summit in Ibiza and they snapped up the release soon after, signing the track …

TRON: Legacy Director Joseph Kosinski shared a handful of new Daft Punk songs with KCRW Music Director (and TRON Music Supervisor) Jason Bentley and you can hear them HERE!
Aside from debuting the score cues, Kosinski tells us the story behind each one in an exclusive interview. I was lucky enough to be in the room during the soundtrack preview event and even though I’ve never seen the original film – and I’m not a Daft Punk die hard – I was absolutely fascinated by the process.
The mysterious robot duo of …

Since I still consider myself more of a music fan than a music “professional” I chose my list around the albums I literally played most this year – and which ones I think I’ll still be pressing play on well into 2011 and beyond.
(two notes — Local Natives’s “Gorilla Manor” was on my list last year or it certainly would have been this year. Also, The Generationals new EP is at the top of my list of current music I love –and Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr’s EP was a frontrunner …

Upcoming on MBE and KCRW Presents
Monday, November 29
Jason Bentley presents an exclusive TRON: Legacy soundtrack preview when he talks with director Joseph Kosinski about the much anticipated film and shares highlights from Daft Punk’s score in the 10 o’clock hour on Morning Becomes Eclectic.
The duo known as The Books offer captivating and experimental songs that create “chapters” on their new release. Many of our DJs have been enthralled by this album and we’ll hear their distinctive sound live on Morning Becomes Eclectic at 11:15am.

Tuesday, November 30
Renowned film composer Danny …

All of our DJs have submitted their Top 10 Albums of 2010 and you can see their lists here. Below are all the albums that were listed as #1 in random order so you can see a compilation of the best of the best!
Most of these bands have performed at the station this year or have been features on KCRW’s Music Blog– click on their names to find performances and more in the archives.
RR
LCD Soundsystem — This Is Happening Virgin
The Black Keys — Brothers (Nonesuch)
Kid Cudi  – Man On The …

I was walking down Abbot Kinney in Venice Beach during First Fridays, a monthly festival where the streets are packed with people and food trucks, and sought solace in a small art gallery. I literally stumbled in there because I needed some quiet and calm and came across these incredible photos of Venice, and the characters that make it so special. I tracked down the name of the photographer and it was Kwaku Alston, who is best known as a celebrity and portrait photographer who has shot the First Family, …

DJ Anthony Valadez is certainly one of the more colorful characters around KCRW and now we know what he does when he’s alone in the basement from midnight to 3am on Monday night/Tuesday morning.  Check out his latest show in the archives.